Moistening device for tape-serving mechanisms



May 9, 1950 A. P. KRUEGER MOISTENING DEVICE FOR TAPE-SERVING MECHANISMS 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed July 26, 1945 May 9, 1950 A. P. KRUEGER MOISTENING DEVICE FOR TAPE-SERVING MECHANISMS 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed July 26, 1945 $IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Patented May 9, 1950 umr so,

MQIS TENING' DEVICE FOR SERVING MECHANISMS Application July 26, 1945, Serial No. 607,222

2 Claims. (Chill-38);

This invention relatestoimoisteningsdevicesi011 tape-servin mechanisms, and morepanticularly to a tape-dispensing machine ofthe typeemplow ing a receptacle for the moisteningfiuirl; suchas; water, and a moisteningelement such as-a brusl lv orfelt Wick, for example, in which themoisture rises from the receptacleby capillary actionh In devices ofthis: character, it is. common. to providea fountain supply for thelioguid: in the; receptacle, and the amount of: moisturedeliveredi to the tape is determined by' the level ofthe Water in the receptacle. That is, the higher the leveli of Water, the shorter will be the travel to. the upper edge of the moistening "element" in: Contact; with the tape, and the greater will', b theomoisctening effect. When the Water level in thelieceptacle is fairly low, there: is a considerable lag: in the rising of the water from the level in the. reeeptacle to the top of thebrush; Under these: circumstances, the tapeat the beginning of the r operation receives a considerable amount'of moisture, sometimes an excess in amount, dueto'the fact that as-the maohine hasbeen at rest the top= of the brush is full of water; However, owing 1201 the lager the time-required' for thewaterto rise: to the top of the moistenin'g element, the re-- mainder of the tape will not receiveas great an amount, and possibly not enough, especially if the: strip of tape is dispensed with speed; In other words, the water or moistening; liquid does not riseby capillary actionas fast as it is drawn from; the top of the tape. It is, therefore; impossible to moisten the tape evenly and 'correctly'hythe sole control of'the height of the levelailrthe' res ceptacle. 1

Also it is not uncommon" for tape-dispensing devices which employ a capiIlary moistening element such as a brush to be'provided'withi a preS- sure plateoverlying the brush andi-exertingpres sure thereon. The'tapeiis fed between the brush: and the pressureplate, and=the pressure exerted: by the latter may be adjusted;- whith will, regain late the amount oflnoisturereceiveiby' theitapa from the. brush. This, metholir or regul tion; of; the moisture received by: the tape a so has its disadvantages, particularly in the (if-thin or: light tape. In such machines; the feed. rollers are usually positioned rearwardly-of theamoistene ing element, and: hence serve to push'ithe tape over the brush and below the pressure plate. If the tape is relatively light and the pressure rela tively heavy, the resistance to'the passagelofsithe, tape between the brush and the pressure plate will be sufliciently: great to. causethe tape. to

'. the-.-receptac1e, and; to maintain: this: level} con stantr,so.zthat'the travellrom' this level; to the top; of: the moistening element willbegrelatively short, and to. maintain any desired pressure-of the pres, sure plate on the, brush: for p oper.- moistenin and feeding at the tape, and; to: provid other means, that is, means; other'than adjustmentv of: the level of the Water'imthe: receptacle, or ad:- just-ment of the pressure: Plate; for regulatin the amount: of: moisture delivered to the tape} Bysuch; an; arr ng ment, the. ape will alway receive: the: proper amount or moisture, and, as, there will beiai relatively shortdistance for'thewater. torise under capillary action, it will, be supplied too-the tape-as fast asitis used, and thus. thegtape. will be moistened evenly throughout the length? of the strip which is dispensed. The,- amount. of; waterdeliyered' to the tape may be regulated as shownihereinby' effecting transverse pressureupon the'brushor other moistening:ele.- ment so, as to, in efiect, reduce the-capillary area, by squeezing together the" elementsof the mois-- tening, elementso that, therewill beless; spacebetWecn-themfor the travel of the Water.

One object of; the present invention is: toprc. vide a new and improved moistening device for tapeedispensing' machines.

Another object of, the invention, is to provide a tape-dispensing machinehaving means for moisteningt a. summed tape, such that the moisture will be, supplied evenly torthegummed surfaceiofr thetape'and: in. the proper, quantity;

A still; further object or the invention. is to provide means, for, applying moisture to the gmnmedsurface of a strip of tape-by means of a moistening element in), which the liquidprises. by capillary action-,;.the-amonntor moisture bein regulated-z by adi zsting, the area 1 of: capillary pas sages, by applying transverse pressure upon the moistening -element Still; another obi ect, ofthe: inventionv is to pro: Cider tape-dispensing machine having a li uid receptaele. and a. moistening element disposed in the receptaclewanci, projecting, therefirom, sov that the gunnnect suri-aceyof th tape may be drawn thereover, and, means for maintaining, a-oonstant level of liquid: in the receptacle together with meansfor adi sting: the-rise of theliqnid in. the moisteningyelement by capillar action, so. as to iegulatei-the quantity of moisture applied-to the Fig. 3 is a top elevational view of the liquid receptacle removed from the machine;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing another adjustment of the parts; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing a modified form of my device.

For purposes of illustration, I have shown a tape-dispensing device comprising a body or frame In having at its forward portion supporting means I I for a liquid receptacle I2. As shown in Fig. 1, this liquid receptacle may be connected by a tube I3 to a fountain device it in which stands in inverted position a water container such as a bottle i 5. It will be understood that the level pf liquid in the receptacle I2 is controlled by the height of that in the fountain l4 and, with the bottle discharging into this member, the liquid in the receptacle l2 will be maintained at a constant level so long as there is any supply within the bottle. Preferably, as will be hereinafter explained, the fountain I4 is so positioned that the level of liquid in the receptacle will be maintained close to the top thereof.

'As the tape issues from the machine, it is designed to be fed past a knife 11 and between a lower guide plate l8 and an upper pressure plate 19, the latter being resiliently urged toward the plate I8 by tension springs 20 (Fig. 1).

Supported in inverted position in the receptacle I2 is a moistening element, such, for example, as a brush 2!, although the invention is not limited to this type of element. The bristles of the brush project through the upper open end of the receptacle l2, and the pressure plate 19 will be held against the upper ends of the bristles by the springs 20 (only one being shown), so

that the tape will be properly pressed downwardly upon the moistening brush during its passage from the machine. It will also be apparent that the rear face of the brush lies against the forward edge of the guide plate 18.

Means are provided for pressing the brush against the forward edge of the guide plate and, therefore, compressing or squeezing the bristles together so as to adjust the effective area of the capillary passages in the brush and thereby adjust or regulate the flow of liquid by capillary action from that in the receptacle to the upper edge of the brush. As shown, this means comprises a cover plate 22 slidably mounted upon the upper edges of the walls of the receptacle, this plate having a cut-away portion 23 through which the brush projects. As shown, the plate is provided with slots 24 within which are disposed screws 25 secured to the receptacle, so that the plate 22 will be guided in its sliding adjustment upon the receptacle. Bowed springs 26 may bear against the head of the screws 25 and against the plate to hold the latter in position.

An adjusting screw 21 is threaded into the front wall of the receptacle and is provided adjacent its rear end with an enlarged portion 28 having therein an annular recess 29 designed to be loosely received within a slot 30 in a lug 3|, depending from the plate 22. -The latter may also be provided with an upstanding rib or bead 32 adjacent the edge of the cut-away portion 23 to bear against the brush or other moistening element and compress the latter against the plate 18. It will be apparent that adjustment of the screw 21 moves the plate 22 to and from the brush 2| as permitted by the slots 24, so that the brush may be compressed to a greater or less degree against the plate 3 or may be left free and loose as desired.

As has been stated, it is contemplated that the water or moistening liquid within the receptacle 12 will be kept at a constant level and at a relatively high level, so that only a short travel of the water will be necessary to carry it to the upper edge of the brush which contacts the tape. This will enable the moistening liquid to travel to the upper end of the brush, as it is removed therefrom by passage of the tape thereover without excessive lag, and the amount of water passing upwardly through the brush may be regulated by the pressure exerted on the brush by the plate 22.

As shown in Fig. 4, the adjusting plate or cover plate 22 has been withdrawn to the left until there is little or no pressure upon the bristles of the brush. They, therefore, stand in a normal relatively free position, spread apart to some extent, so that there is a considerable area between them for the moistening liquid. This position of the parts results in the passage of a maximum amount of the liquid to the upper edge of the brush and, therefore, to the tape. If it is desired, however, to decrease the amount of moisture applied to the tape, the adjusting 'screw 21 is rotated in the direction to advance the plate 22 against the brush to the position shown in Fig. 2, where it will be noted the bristles are compressed between the bead 32 and the forward edge of the plate 18. The result of this transverse pressure upon the brush will be a lessening of the eifectivearea of the capillary passages therein and, therefore, a lessening of the amount of moisture flowing to the edge of the brush and, therefore, of the amount applied to the tape. The amount of moisture applied to the tape may thus be readily and conveniently adjusted, so that its gummed surface will always be properly moistened, while the maintenance of the liquid in the receptacle at a high constant level will eliminate excessive lag between the using-up of moisture by the tape and the delivery thereof to the upper edge of the brush.

In Fig. 5 of the drawing, I have shown a somewhat modified form of my invention. In this instance, the pressure plate overlying the brush,

such as the pressure plate [9 of Fig. 2, is omitted guide roll 35 and through a throat formed by an upper plate 36 and a lower guide plate 31 formed integrally with the receptacle 38. The plate 37 is provided with a forwardly extending portion 39 adapted to rest against the rear face of the brush 4!! and cooperate with the bead M on the rear edge of the adjustable cover plate 42 to compress the brush and thereby vary its capillary capacity. It will be also understood that in this form of my invention, means will be provided for maintaining the liquid in the receptacle 38 at a constant level and that the cover plate 42 of the receptacle may be adjusted V 2| shown in Figs. 2 and 4 is provided with a beveled or chiseled upper edge so as to better cooperate with the inclined lower surface of the pressure plate I 9, the brush 40 may appropriately have a rounded upper end as shown in Fig. 5 as, in this device, it is contemplated that the tape shown at 44 will be drawn over the brush by the hand of the user. Adjustment of the cover plate 42 will effect transverse pressure upon the brush, squeezing the bristles together and thus adjust the amount of liquid passing from the receptacle to the top of the brush, so that the proper amount of moisture may be applied to the tape at all times.

While I have shown and described some preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A moistening device for a tape-dispensing machine comprising a liquid receptacle, a capillary moistening element supported in said receptacle and projecting therefrom in which element the moisture rises to the upper surface thereof, a plate covering the forward portion of the receptacle, said cover plate being mounted for slidable movement on the upper edges of the side walls of the receptacle, the rear edge of which plate is adapted to engage the front of the moistening element, an abutment at the rear side of the moistening element, a pressure plate urged toward the upper surface of the moistening element, and means for adjusting said cover plate toward the moistening element to transversely compress the latter between the rear edge of the cover plate and the abutment, said cover plate having an enlarged head at its rear edge to bear against the moistening element, 40

and means to guide said cover plate in its movement toward and away from the brush and to restrain it against twisting mofvement in its own plane.

2. A moistening device for a tape-dispensing machine comprising a liquid receptacle, a capillary moistening element supported in said receptacle and projecting therefrom in which element the moisture rises to the upper surface thereof, a plate covering the forward portion of the receptacle, said cover plate being mounted for slidable movement on the upper edges of the side walls of the receptacle, the rear edge of which plate is adapted to engage the front of the moistening element, an abutment at the rear side of the moistening element, a pressure plate urged toward the upper surface of the moistening element, means for adjusting said cover plate toward the moistening element to transversely compress the latter between the rear edge of the cover plate and the abutment, means for maintaining a constant level of liquid in the receptacle, and means to guide said cover plate in its movement toward and away from the brush and to restrain it against twisting movement in its own plane.

ALFRED P. KRUEGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 900,352 Browne Oct. 6, 1908 1,171,097 Cummings Feb. 8, 1916 1,732,637 Gautier Oct. 22, 1929 1,747,441 Hummel -1 Feb. 18, 1930 2,370,671 Krueger Mar. 6, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 306,224 Great Britain Feb. 21, 1929 

